Remembrance
by Nikapi
Summary: A total stranger is haunting Buffy's dreams, and she wants to know why.
1. The Dream

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Remembrance 

Disclaimer: Of course, characters and settings from Buffy the Vampire Slayer are...from Buffy the Vampire Slayer. And therefore not mine. I am only borrowing them from Joss, Fox, ME, and whomever else, and I promise to give them back. Any characters or places appearing not from the show are mine, unless specifically credited otherwise.

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Author's Notes: This story focuses exclusively on the core four (Buffy, Xander, Willow, Giles) so some characters will show up very little, others, not at all. Sorry. It also takes place in Season 3, anywhere between 'Amends' and 'The Zeppo'. The time doesn't affect the plot much, actually - I just like the high school seasons best :) As always, reviews are highly coveted (And, to be honest, very inspiring sometimes. There's nothing like knowing people are reading what you're writing to get you writing more. Even if they don't like it.) So, please leave one. Thanks!

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Spoilers: Possibly a few through Season 3, but nothing else.

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She was in a hallway. It was night, and the hallway itself was pitch black. Slivers of bright light striped the floor an the walls in even rectangles, clearly outlining doors. Much further down the hall, she could see a bright opening of light, suggesting one of the doors wasn't closed. She hesitated, unsure of what to do. Something about walking into the light in a dark hallway didn't sit too well with her survival instinct, but was there another way out? When she turned, there was a vast expanse of blackness. A few steps in that direction confirmed that there was still a seemingly solid floor, but after a glance over her shoulder, she began to get the impression that she could walk for hours and not move a single foot. 

Cautiously, she turned back towards the doors, moving with slow steps towards the nearest one. A moment of groping in the dark led her to a handle, but try as she might, she couldn't get it to open. Moving to the next door, she found a similar result. This was beginning to frustrate her.

It took more doors than she bothered to count before she found one that would open. It swung open easily, pouring light into the hallway and momentarily blinding her. Shielding her eyes, she turned her head, glancing back down the hall. The doors stretched out for what seemed like miles behind her, certainly for much further than she could remember walking.

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Oh, she realized. _I'm dreaming. Obviously. _She paused a moment, and couldn't help a brief sulk.

You would think I'd be able to come up with a more original dream than 'endless doors in a hallway.'

Somewhat annoyed, she reached towards the open doorway, groping for the handle so she could pull it shut again. The light was beginning to hurt her eyes. A moment later she discovered, with no small amount of dismay, that apparently not only did she open the door, but she had banished it from existence entirely. A sweep of her hand over the doorframe confirmed this; there was no door and there were no hinges. There was nothing.

She clucked her tongue in annoyance. This dream was getting worse and worse. _But it's my dream,_ she reasoned. _Shouldn't I be able to control it, now that I know I'm dreaming?_

This seemed like a logical plan. She stared hard at the frame, willing a door to appear in it again. Nothing happened, other than the growing ache just behind her eyes. She signed and rubbed a temple.

Maybe _I should start smaller._

Now she stepped away from the doorway, looking, instead, very seriously at her hand. _Sunglasses. I want some sunglasses._

None appeared. She barely resisted the urge to stomp her foot. What was the point of knowing you were dreaming if you couldn't do whatever you wanted? She leaned back against the wall, exhaling heavily. Staring at the light for so long has caused spots to dance in front of her eyes, and she closed them wearily.

When she opened them, the spots were gone.

Of course, so was the hallway.

Startled, she turned, taking in her new surroundings.

She was on a reasonably average street, in a town that looked like it could have been Sunnydale. In fact, she probably would have assumed it was Sunnydale, if the ground weren't covered in snow. Snow didn't happen in California.

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Not often, anyway.

About a block away, a large building broke up the neat rows of houses, and she started towards it. It didn't take a lot of investigation to realize the building was a school; a shrill bell pierced the air, and teenagers began to pour loudly out the door a moment later.

She turned onto the front walkway, passing a sign that read 'Oakland High'. At first, she was very careful to step out of the way of anyone who looked like they were about to run into her, but when a boy she didn't notice in time ran right through her, she gave up. When she found herself unable to enter the building, even if she tried to slip in while someone else was holding the door open, she settled herself on a nearby bench.

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Nothing else is going my way in this dream, why should this? 

Shaking her head ruefully, she settled on watching the stream of students. Gradually the rush slowed, and as fewer and fewer began to exit the building and head off, she began paying more and more attention, though she couldn't figure out why.

Finally, a pair of girls walked past, and for no reason she could put her finger on, Buffy jumped to her feet and began to follow them.

"Well, how do you know?" The girl on the left asked. She could only catch glimpses of her face from the angle she was at, so she settled for staring at the back of the girl's head, which was currently covered in a red knitted hat.

"Because he said to me, 'I like her,' is how I know. Don't be so negative!" She couldn't see the hat girl's companion roll her eyes, but she was absolutely positive she did. 

"I don't think he means it."

The girls strolled along, and she followed, only half listening to the one assure the other that no, really, he did like her, and she was sure Amanda (whoever that was) had been trying to piss her off when she had said he had been all over her.

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I'm sure this would be very interesting, she groused to herself, _If I knew a single one of these people._

Letting her eyes wander, she noticed a car about two blocks back, driving very slowly. She frowned, set on guard for a reason she couldn't place. It wasn't until she accidentally walked through one of the girls before she had realized they had stopped at a corner. She stopped herself, and turned, glancing at their faces only a moment before studying the car between their heads.

"Anyway, I'll call you." The girls resumed walking, red hat continuing along the street in the same direction, while her friend rounded the corner, turned left, and went her own way. She stood very still, right where she had stopped, and kept an eye on the car. It rolled to the intersection and paused; through the window, she could see a man who looked to be about in her 40s. He looked down at something beside him, and then back up.

The car turned left.

So did she.

It did not roll slowly along the street now, but sped up, instead, until it passed the girl. Then it pulled over quickly, and the man got out, putting himself directly in the girl's path.

She ran from the corner, towards the girl, but she didn't make it far before her foot slipped on some ice, and she tripped. The ground rushed up at her.

Buffy Summers awoke with a start and stared at the ceiling.

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Weird, she decided, rubbing an eye before sighing, pushing back the comforter, and standing up.


	2. Second Verse

****

Remembrance 

Disclaimer: Of course, characters and settings from Buffy the Vampire Slayer are...from Buffy the Vampire Slayer. And therefore not mine. I am only borrowing them from Joss, Fox, ME, and whomever else, and I promise to give them back. Any characters or places appearing not from the show are mine, unless specifically credited otherwise.

Author's Notes: This story focuses exclusively on the core four (Buffy, Xander, Willow, Giles) so some characters will show up very little, others, not at all. Sorry. It also takes place in Season 3, anywhere between 'Amends' and 'The Zeppo'. The time doesn't affect the plot much, actually - I just like the high school seasons best :) As always, reviews are highly coveted (And, to be honest, very inspiring sometimes. There's nothing like knowing people are reading what you're writing to get you writing more. Even if they don't like it.) Please leave one. Mispel and Zac - thanks a bunch!

Spoilers: Possibly a few through Season 3, but nothing else.

--

"...you'll pass these back. Homework tonight is to fill out these forms with a detailed analysis of period of your choice. Detailed as in, if you're going to copy right from the book, Mr. Mezzina, you had better pick at least three separate pages. You can get started now."

Buffy couldn't hold back a yawn, though she did try to hide it as best she could. It sort of figured that the one night in the last month she was in bed before midnight would end up with her exhausted the following morning. Logic had long ceased to apply in her life.

The boy in front of her turned in his seat and passed the worksheets back to her. She set aside a packet for herself, then turned to hand the other two to Xander and Willow, directly behind her. The angle allowed her to catch a glimpse of Tommy Mezzina, sitting at a table two rows over and looking mutinous. Grinning slightly, Buffy turned back around.

"So, what period are we doing?" Xander asked Willow, beneath his breath. Normally, Buffy would be asking her friend the exact same question, though maybe in a more discrete manner. And, she realized, come the end of the day she probably would be. But right at that very moment, she couldn't be bothered to do anything at all, even if it was only copying someone else's work.

"Oh, is it a group assignment? I must have missed Mrs. Taggart saying that." There was amusement in Willow's voice, and Buffy knew she would end up helping both of them along later in the library, as usual.

'Buffy Summers,' she wrote along the top of her paper, and then just beneath it, 'Chemistry: Period 8.' Idly, she traced over both lines again.

Then, just the second line, several times.

Then, just the number.

Head in her hand, Buffy watched pen sweep along the curves of the 8 over and over again, transfixed. Someone sneezed loudly to her right several moments later, and brought her trance to an abrupt end.

She blinked rapidly, confused. Her pen was still poised in her hand, halfway through the loop of the number, but the number was no longer on her worksheet. It was carved into the desk, along with a string of other numbers that looked like a complicated algebra formula.

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We don't sit at desks.

Buffy looked up very quickly, and was suddenly very wide awake. She was still in a classroom. A nice classroom. Just not hers. Bewildered, she searched for some indication of where she was.

She was surrounded on all sides by kids around her own age. _Scratch that,_ she decided, after a moment. _Younger. Maybe even frosh. _One boy, a row behind her and one seat over, was wearing what looked like a letter jacket, but only his name was on the front. After waving her arms frantically for a moment and confirming no one seemed able to see her, Buffy stood and circled behind him, checking the back of the jacket for a team or a town name. If there was one, it was blocked by the back of a chair, and the bear mascot that was visible didn't help much.

She realized quickly that the boy to whom the jacket belonged was asleep, and she wasn't going to get a chance to look for a town anytime soon. Instead, she let her attention wander to some of the other students. No one was particularly interesting, and most were totally silent. Taking a test, she guessed.

A few rows ahead, someone giggled, and then quickly bit it back as the teacher at the front of the room looked up from her desk sternly. She wandered forward, eager for a little distraction. Peering over the girl's shoulder, Buffy watched as the girl unfolded a note as quietly as she could and read it quickly.

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"Why didn't you come over like you were supposed to last night?"

The girl glanced behind her, and Buffy followed her eyes to another girl, sitting diagonally to the right. That girl looked up after a moment to meet the first's eyes, frowning, and after a moment, Buffy realized with a start that she was the girl in the red hat.

Whipping around, Buffy studied the face of the first girl, looking for some sign that ...yes, it was the other girl from her dream. But she looked different. Tired and a little older, maybe. She sighed and turned back around, bending over the note and writing out a hasty reply, which Buffy quickly squinted to catch.

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"I'm really, really sorry. I started early on my homework and ended up asleep on my math book. My dad didn't know I was out until 11."

The note was refolded and flicked back. Buffy found herself more interested in the girl than the note, though, and stayed with her. She was definitely younger than Buffy was, maybe 13 or 14. Her hair was strawberry blond and short. Much shorter than she remembered it was in her dream, Buffy realized.

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But if that was a dream, and she was there, I'm probably just dreaming again, so who cares?

Still, she kept up her appraisal of the girl, taking in little things like a scar behind her ear and obviously bitten nails, until a new folded piece of paper sailed onto the desk.

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"Yeah, alright. You have looked kind of trashed all day. I had been thinking maybe you had another fight with your mom."

The girl gave a soft, sharp laugh under her breath that lacked any trace of humor, but turned slightly in her seat and shook her head just enough for red hat to see. It didn't take long for red hat to reply with another message carefully aimed onto the girl's desk.

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"That's good. What time are you coming over tonight?"

The girl visibly flinched, and paused for a long moment before replying. It looked like it took a great physical effort to write the words.

****

"I'm really sorry, Em. I can't sleep over tonight. I totally forgot about something I have to do."

Red hat...no, Em's face darkened the moment she read the note, and she was very still for almost a minute before ripping a new chunk of paper and answering. The note was flung in the girl's direction, not with quite so much care this time.

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"Let me guess. Tomorrow's no good either. Actually, you don't know what you'll be doing all weekend, but you'll probably be out. And you can't tell me where or why. Am I warm?"

The girl bit her lip and looked like she was going to cry. She didn't answer the note. Buffy could hear Em make a low noise of disgust, and then the two sat, silent.

Several minutes later, the bell rang. The girl turned quickly in her seat, looking to her friend, but Em was already gathering her things up rapidly, and without looking at the girl once, she turned on her heel sharply and left the room.

Someone shook Buffy's shoulder gently, then a little harder. 

She opened her eyes and looked up into the concerned face of Xander.

"Rough night last night? Come on, caffeine on me."

She yawned and followed him.


	3. Into the Night

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Remembrance 

Disclaimer: Of course, characters and settings from Buffy the Vampire Slayer are...from Buffy the Vampire Slayer. And therefore not mine. I am only borrowing them from Joss, Fox, ME, and whomever else, and I promise to give them back. Any characters or places appearing not from the show are mine, unless specifically credited otherwise.

--

This school business really involves way to much work, Buffy decided, staring glumly at a page filled with complicated calculus formulas in, she was dismayed to notice, extremely small font. Her gaze momentarily slid to the left, falling on her notebook, where her name and the date were boldly displayed across the top of a piece of paper. Unfortunately for her, it looked like the answers to her math homework weren't going to appear no matter how hard she stared at the paper, and she would, in fact, have to write them down herself.

Beside her, Xander hummed thoughtfully. With words selected a little too carefully, he addressed seemingly no one. "This is interesting. I'm just looking over this poem, right? And I get this feeling that there's some metaphorical point Poe's making. I bet I'd find it so much more fulfilling and enlightening if I knew what it was." A pause, and heavy sigh, and then, quickly, "What do you think, Willow?"

"I think I dimly recall telling you yesterday that I wasn't going to answer any of your homework questions this week." Willow lowered the book blocking view of her face momentarily, displaying a mock-contemplative expression that was barely concealing a grin. "...Yes...I think I did."

"I think that's the fastest shut out you've gotten all week, Xand," Buffy observed, concentrating very hard on balancing her pencil across her fingertip.

"Yeah. I was kinda hopin' I'd sneak that one past her." sighed Xander, regretfully returning to his textbook.

Willow was definitely smiling now, Buffy could hear it in her voice. "You got your freebie in Chem."

Buffy's attention slowly drifted from her pencil, across the faces of her friends, the walls of the library, the stacks, to the open window; through it she could see one of the saplings planted around the school in memory of a deceased student. The wind rustling the leaves fascinated her, and though she was dimly aware that she was seriously spacing out, she didn't bother to look away. 

She soon noticed that, right before her eyes, the tree seemed to be...growing. Entranced, she stared as the library and her friends' voices faded out around her into darkness, and the tree changed before her, shooting upwards into a full grown oak tree, the leaves just beginning to bud. Drops of cool water fell upon her face, and with a gasp, Buffy shook herself from her trance, looking all around. She found herself on a dark, suburban street; the pavement shone from the light drizzle falling from the sky. 

Buffy suspected it was very late. Save for a one or two houses, the windows up and down the street were all dark. She didn't remember falling asleep, but barring the library having developed new reality altering powers, she was certainly dreaming.

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Again, she grumbled inwardly.

An obstinate little voice in the back of her mind protested that whatever it was she was here to dream had better just come to her this time, and Buffy found herself agreeing, settling herself down on a curb with a sigh. Not that her homework had been all that fascinating, but she couldn't bring herself to be all that enthused about taking a mental field trip two times in the same day.

Though, she couldn't help but admit, with a small smile, it was kind of relaxing. Even knowing she could handle pretty much anything that came down the street, Buffy didn't dare to simply sit outside and enjoy the night air very often. Being outside usually meant being on patrol, and after the initial annoyance, she found the cool drizzle and breeze almost relaxing.

For about thirty seconds.

A slam snapped her out of her thoughts, and she looked quickly to her left, then right, looking for the source of the noise.

Several houses away, a figure came striding out of one of the few houses still lit up, posture angry and steps quick. A moment later, the front door was flung open, and another figure appeared in the frame, calling after the first. Buffy stood and started to move closer, curious.

"...dare you walk away from me when I'm talking to you? Come back here at once!"

The man in the doorway, and the cultured, accented voice left no doubt that it was a man, hurried down the porch steps, leaving the front door open. He ran down the front walk, stopping as he reached the first figure, who, in the light streaming out of the open doorway, was revealed to be a young girl. Buffy jogged a few paces, squinting to make out the features of the pair, and stopped dead in her tracks, instant recognition dawning.

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It's the same girl, again!

There was no mistaking it; it was definitely the girl from her previous dreams. As Buffy began to draw closer again, she could pick out the same features she had seen twice before: the same short, light hair, the same pixie-like profile, now contorted with anger. 

"Here's an idea," she snapped, jabbing the man in the chest with her finger, "Why don't you leave me the hell alone and **stop bossing me around**."

The man sputtered, clearly furious and at a loss for words. 

"If you think I'm just going to let you leave -"

"Spare me," the girl cut him off, arms folding across her chest. "It's not like you can stop me."

"I most certainly can," he stuttered back, reaching out and grabbing her elbow. "You cannot just decide to go. I forbid it!"

With a quick shake, the girl freed her arm from his grip, turning on her heel abruptly and beginning to stomp away. "Watch me!" She challenged, shoving her hands into her pockets. In a low mutter, she added, "That's what your good at."

There was no question in Buffy's mind as to who to follow. She turned as well and quickly fell into step beside the girl. She did look over her shoulder several times to see if the man was following them, but he did not move from his spot at the end of the walkway, staring after them, appalled. By the time she and the girl had reached the end of the block, he had returned to the house, slamming the door behind him.

Buffy's attention focused solely on the girl, who's eyes were fixed on some distant point straight ahead. Despite the stoic look on her face, Buffy could see angry tears welling in her eyes, and guessed that the hands in the pockets of the girl's coat were probably balled into fists. Jogging forward a few steps, Buffy turned around and planted herself directly in front of the girl, walking backwards and studying the face before her. Despite searching hard and racking her memory, she couldn't figure out for the life of her who this girl was, or how Buffy knew her - as some part of her felt that she did. Nor could she put her finger on what, exactly, she was supposed to be seeing in this girl. At this point, Buffy thought it unlikely she was dreaming up these snippets of conversations for no reason.

After several long minutes, Buffy sighed and stopped walking, letting the girl pass through her. She took a moment to look up and down the street in frustration, looking for something - anything - that would make even a little bit of sense. Finding nothing, she turned around again, moved to catch up with the girl, and then stopped. In the minute or two Buffy had been standing still, the girl had put quite a bit of distance between them, and about midway, on the other side of the street, Buffy noticed a dark figure remove itself from the shadows of a house and slip silently towards the street. Buffy quickly looked to the girl, searching for any sign that she also saw the figure, and found none.

The figure - a man, Buffy guessed - crossed the street without making a sound, and the hair on the back of Buffy's neck stood up. He wasn't moving like Buffy would expect someone to cross the street. He was moving like a predator. Again, with a growing apprehension, Buffy looked to see if the girl noticed the man. Nothing.

The man fell into step between Buffy and the girl, rapidly closing the distance between him and his prey just as fast as Buffy closed the distance between herself and him. A jolt of fear ran through her as the man let out a low growl Buffy had heard countless variations of as he lunged at the girl's back.

Buffy cried out, trying to warn the girl, and then clenched her eyes shut as color and light suddenly flooded her vision.

"Buffy?"

When she opened them again, she was back in the library. Xander and Willow sat before her, just as they were, staring at her with expressions somewhere between concern and amusement.

"Are you ok? You were shouting for us to look out." Willow leaned forward, setting her book down and gesturing around, "But there's nothing here."

"Except the books, which I, personally, do think look kinda shifty." Even though Xander was grinning at her, Buffy could see that he was just as wigged as Willow.

She shook her head a little. "It's nothing. I just must have drifted off."

"And to think," Xander teased, "I just spent a whole four dollars on Mountain Dew."


End file.
